


Desensitized

by sodaschemes



Series: The Peach Tree [1]
Category: LEGO Monkie Kid
Genre: (mild), Angst, Arachnophobia, Brainwashing, Cannibalism, Choking, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Dehumanization, Force-Feeding, I have no idea how the magic stuff works I'm sorry, Near Death Experiences, Non-Sexual, Panic Attacks, Pet whump, Self-Harm, Spiders, Stockholm Syndrome, Strangulation, Suicidal Thoughts, The Author Regrets Nothing, Torture, Whump, human battery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:21:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26991316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sodaschemes/pseuds/sodaschemes
Summary: The world was darkness, a galaxy of nonexistent stars.Finally, mercifully, just as he was sure he was going to die, it came to a halt.He fell forward, unable to catch himself with his hands tied as they were, but grateful for the ability to breathe all the same.He took in gulp after gulp of air, his entire body trembling uncontrollably. For a minute there he’d been so sure that it would be his last.See no evilHear no evilSpeak no evilMK is captured by the Spider Queen.
Series: The Peach Tree [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990279
Comments: 45
Kudos: 56





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please head the warnings left in the tags. I would hate for anybody to be triggered or to have a panic attack.  
> Do note that this fic is going to get intense and may be hard to read.

MK curled in on himself, trying to block out the cold.

_ Fuck _ , it was so cold.

And… damp?

What was going on? He didn’t remember what had happened, or how he’d gotten here. He’d only woken up just now, tied up in the dark. His eyes had yet to adjust.

He shivered, jerking at the ropes that bound his hands behind his back. They didn’t budge.

It was definitely very bad that he couldn’t remember what had happened. He was pretty sure he remembered saving Pigsy and Tang from —  _ ick _ — spiders (or like, a spider demon lady or whatever). Same difference. He shuddered. He absolutely  _ hated  _ spiders.

But on the bright side, they’d all gotten out of there, no problem!

Er… actually, considering that was the last thing he could remember, he wasn’t so sure if that was true. Where  _ was _ he?

“Hello?” he called, cringing when his voice echoed loudly through the… wherever he was. Well, if anyone  _ was  _ here, they could definitely hear him.

Hopefully it was just Red Son or something. That guy was a loser, he’d be easy to defeat. Plus, MK had no doubt that his team was working on getting him out of here right this very moment. 

Oh fuck, he hoped Pigsy wasn’t pissed at him for missing work again.

In his defense, this wasn’t his fault! Pigsy would probably understand. And if he didn’t, well, he had everyone else to vouch for him. Probably.

“Is anyone here?” he asked, the only response being his own voice echoing back at him.

Ugh, apparently he was alone down here — wait. He could hear something. Footsteps? No, it sounded different than that. Kind of like…

“Hush up now, little monkey.”

He looked around wildly, frustrated that he still couldn’t see anything. The sight of truth that the staff gave him would  _ really _ come in handy right about now. Come to think of it, where  _ was _ his staff? 

The voice, which was previously kind of far away probably, was suddenly very,  _ very _ close. “Can’t have you screaming, now can we?”

Oh fuck, he was just now remembering where he recognized this voice from. Oh  _ no _ , was he back in the nightmare hole?  _ Oh no _ , were there still all the creepy crawly spiders everywhere? Nope nope nope, he was absolutely not thinking about that right now. Ew… The absolute last thing he wanted in life was to be in a place that was absolutely  _ crawling _ with…  _ those _ .

“Untie me!” he said, struggling fiercely. Wait, if this was the Spider Queen and her nightmare hole, then… 

_ Nope nope nope nope _ , he was suddenly very thankful that he couldn’t see much of anything. If he couldn’t see, then he couldn’t confirm whether or not he was actually tied with —  _ ick _ — spiderwebs. He wanted to cry just thinking about it.

Why couldn’t she just use some good old fashioned rope?  _ There was nothing wrong with rope _ ! He would even be fine with chains, even if they pinched his skin! Just…  _ anything _ but spiderwebs.

The Spider Queen laughed, the sound reverberating through the cave. MK really could do without this stupid echo. “ _ Untie _ you? Oh, honey, where would be the fun in that?”

Well, that wasn’t the reaction he was hoping for. He wasn’t surprised, but still, it would have been nice if maybe for  _ once _ —

“See, I  _ was _ planning on eating you,” she said.

_ Eating him _ ? Oh shit,  _ oh shit _ , he’d forgotten about that in the midst of his earlier battle. Oh god, he didn’t want to be eaten! He was too young to die!

“You don’t need to eat me!” MK said hastily. “I mean, I bet I’d taste terrible! I would be totally disgusting! You don’t need a teenage boy who eats nothing but noodles! If you’re gonna eat somebody, at least eat someone who’s  _ healthy _ !”

“I said  _ was _ ,” the Spider Queen said, cutting off his rambling. “But I’ve changed my mind.”

“You… have?” Oh, thank god. Being eaten sounded like one of the worst possible ways to go. He’d rather die. …Okay, that wasn’t a good comparison. Still, the point remained. He had officially found one thing worse than spiders. Being fucking  _ eaten _ .

But spiders were still a very close second.

“Course I have,” she said. MK’s eyes were finally adjusting to the darkness, and he could now just make out her wicked smile. “I have a feeling you’re going to be  _ so _ much more useful than just a light snack.”

MK shuddered at the idea. Thank god she’d changed her mind. Wait… why  _ had _ she changed her mind? And worse, what exactly was she planning to use him for? He wasn’t sure he wanted to find out.

“I think the  _ obvious _ solution here is to just let me go,” MK said, laughing nervously. “I mean, why keep me around if you’re not gonna eat me, right? And as we’ve already established, you’re definitely not doing that. Please don’t change your mind again.” He really needed to stop talking before he changed her mind  _ for  _ her.

She laughed again, but said nothing. MK, as best he could, squirmed uncomfortably in the following silence. He hated not being able to move his hands.

The Spider Queen hummed, observing MK carefully. She took his face in her cold hands, turning it side to side.

MK jerked his head free of her grip, glaring at her. “Unhand me!” he said, hoping he sounded confident and not, you know, completely terrified.

“I think we need a rundown on how this is going to  _ work _ ,” the Spider Queen said, standing up to her full height again. MK gulped, looking up at her in terror.  _ Don’t focus on the spider thing don’t focus on the spider thing don’t focus on the spider thing. _

He was fine. This was fine. It was all totally and completely fine.  _ Everything was good _ !

“It would just be  _ so much easier  _ for the both of us if you would cooperate,” she continued, “You think you can be obedient, little monkey?”

MK wrinkled his nose at the wording she’d chosen.  _ Obedient _ ? Hell no! “I told you before,” he said, “ _ I _ am a  _ monkey  _ **_man_ ** !” with that, he attempted to break free of his bindings heroically so he could then pummel her.

Which, theoretically, would have been great. If it had worked. Instead, he was stuck struggling in the ropes, wriggling around on the ground like a worm.

Well. This was going great.

“You  _ are _ adorable,” the Spider Queen said, amused. “Yes, I think I can make this work quite nicely.”

MK was too busy looking and feeling like a fool to really pay attention to that. He could worry about it later, it was fine. For now, he needed to break out of this.

She looked down at him, and MK only struggled harder, if only to shake away the discomfort of being watched like that.

“You really  _ are  _ a little monkey,” she chuckled after a moment.

“Stop calling me that,” MK grumbled. He could feel it, he was almost free! Maybe, if he just kept stalling, he could take her by surprise.

She reached down, hoisting him back up so he was sitting upright again.

“Hey!” he cried, more offended than anything. “What are you doing?”

“Just trying to get a good look at my new pet.”

Oh, okay —  _ come again now _ ? What had she just called him? Oh god, and the way she’d  _ said  _ it — he wanted to vomit. He was pretty sure he could actually feel a bit of bile rising in his throat.

MK laughed uncomfortably. “Your new what now?” he squeaked. Dammit, that was supposed to come out sounding… well, definitely not sounding like he was a scared little baby. Which, he definitely wasn’t.

“Powerful little monkeys like yourself don’t need to be out leveling cities,” Spider Queen said, casual. MK waited for her to continue explaining, but she didn’t. Okay, that didn’t clear up his concern at all. In fact, it probably only elevated it.

“Okay, first off, I know the whole “Monkie Kid” title thing can be confusing, but I’m definitely a human. Like, completely a human. Not an actual monkey.” Plus, he  _ hadn’t  _ been out leveling cities, he’d been out  _ stopping _ people like DBK from leveling cities.

All he got in response was a smug, “We’ll see about that.”

With that, she undid his headband, his hair awkwardly flopping into his face in its absence.

“Hey! Do you know how long it takes to get my hair to look good—?” he was forced to cut off as the headband was retied, rather tightly, around his neck. “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice becoming slightly raspy as his airway was getting cut off. “What are you — no — st-stop!” He gasped, and though his hands were tied  _ behind _ him, he still tried to lift them so he could clutch at his neck desperately. He made no progress, and the band only tightened. He couldn’t take in enough breath to do more than make the tiniest of sounds.

The Spider Queen didn’t relent, pulling it so tight and cutting off MK’s air so quick that suddenly his vision was swimming with black specks and his head was going fuzzy like TV static.

He struggled to the best of his ability, using the last of his energy to get her to stop. Still, it wasn’t enough, and his eyes slipped shut. The world was darkness, a galaxy of nonexistent stars.

Finally, mercifully, just as he was sure he was going to die, it came to a halt.

He fell forward, unable to catch himself with his hands tied as they were, but grateful for the ability to breathe all the same.

He took in gulp after gulp of air, his entire body trembling uncontrollably. For a minute there he’d been so sure that it would be his last. 

And then the Spider Queen said something that MK couldn’t even attempt to comprehend, and suddenly the feeling was back.

His neck was being absolutely  _ crushed  _ — but she wasn’t touching him anymore. How… why…  _ stop _ …

Just like the first time, it went away right as all hope seemed lost. This time, the feeling didn’t come back, and MK was able to frantically take in as much air as his lungs allowed.

“What…” MK panted when he could finally breathe again, “What did you  _ do _ ?”

“Well, every pet needs a collar,” was all she responded with.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, “I already said, I’m… I’m…” oh man, he was  _ way  _ too lightheaded to be arguing right now. For a moment, he could only focus on taking breath after breath.

“Now,” she said, plucking at his hair and standing upright again. “I’ll take  _ that _ , and…” she dropped it into a cauldron which definitely hadn’t been there before. Had it been? He couldn’t remember. Was he losing his mind? “ _ You _ , my  _ adorable _ little monkey, are going to help me reclaim my empire.”

And then, as if the lack of oxygen in his brain wasn’t bad  _ enough _ , he was suddenly just… really… so fucking exhausted. The kind of exhausted that he could barely even find it in himself to  _ move _ . The kind of exhausted that seeped into his bones and wouldn’t let go.

He slumped over on the floor, unable to hold himself up any longer.

He couldn’t just fall asleep… not here, not now. He didn’t even know how she was doing it, or what she was going to do to him if he  _ did  _ lose consciousness. He forced his eyes wide open, but they were fluttering shut anyway, against his will.

“Well, isn’t that just perfect?” the Spider Queen asked, likely rhetorically. If MK had the energy to think of a good response, he would definitely be doing that right now. He’d be all… uh…  _ god _ , he was so tired. He could probably sleep for like, a thousand years.

He zoned out on whatever monologue she was giving. He couldn’t fight this exhaustion any longer. He just wanted to sleep…

He yawned faintly, drifting off and allowing himself to give in to the cold clutches of sleep. He couldn’t resist it, anyway.

The world faded away around him.

———

MK woke up what he presumed was a short time later, still completely out of it, but at least with enough energy to  _ think _ . 

He was alone. Thank goodness.

Alright, he had to get out of here. First he had to somehow get untied, and then he had to find his staff, and then he had to find a way out of here. That seemed simple enough. That was  _ totally _ simple enough! He could handle this.

Carefully, he sat up, doing his best not to make any noise.

He had to get this perfect. Just the  _ memories  _ from earlier had him feeling nauseous, and he had a feeling that if he didn’t get out of here before the Spider Queen came back, there would be more where that had come from. He wasn’t exactly eager to experience that.

Hmm, maybe if he could find something sharp to cut the ropes — yes, he knew they were webs, but the very horror of that idea was too much to comprehend. It was easier to just think of them as regular old ropes. He really didn’t need to be sending himself into a panic attack right now.

He looked around for… he didn’t know, a pointy rock or something? Anything remotely sharp would do. Probably.

It took a minute, but he finally managed to get to his feet. He stumbled, biting back a shriek as he immediately tripped forward. With his hands tied behind his back, he couldn’t make an effort to catch himself.

His face collided with the floor.  _ Hard _ .

The sound echoed throughout the cave. Oh shit, now not only was he in immense pain, but he definitely had a limited time frame to get away. 

He scrambled to his feet again, leaning against the wall to steady himself before he took off in a staggering run. Forget the getting untied part, first he just had to get  _ away _ .

He was actually making progress! He had been right, it was all completely working out. He’d be back home and cozy in bed before he could say  _ noodles _ .

_ Don’t look back, don’t look back, just keep running _ .

Oh man, he could actually see light! Light meant  _ freedom _ ! He moved towards it, panting with effort and exhaustion. Almost there. He was almost there. He could take a nice long nap as soon as he got out.

He was so close.

And then he was choking again.

He fell to his knees, gasping for breath as the band — he absolutely was not calling it a collar, because it was just his  _ headband _ — tightened around his neck. 

_ Stop stop stop stop! _

His lungs were already burning, and his neck was going to bruise, he was sure of it. 

It hurt so bad, he just wanted it to stop, oh god.

“There you are,” the Spider Queen said, her voice barely registering in MK’s fuzzy brain. He just wanted it to stop. Nothing else mattered.

He was vaguely aware of his body being plucked off the ground.

“Can’t have you running off like that, little monkey. Lucky you, I have a  _ delightful _ punishment picked out.”

MK, for all his fighting, could do nothing to stop her.

The band stopped squeezing the life out of him, thank goodness, but he had a sick feeling that whatever was going to come next would be just as bad (or  _ worse _ ).

He was all but thrown into a dark, disgusting cell. Full of… full of…  _ nope nope nope too many spiderwebs, way too many spiderwebs _ .

“You’re going to stay in this dark, nice little cell — full of spiders, by the way — until you learn how to  _ respect  _ your queen. I’ll be back in the morning, little monkey. Let’s hope you’ve learned your lesson by then.”

With that, the cell door shut and locked, and MK was left alone. On the bright side, he finally managed to free his hands from their bindings. On the downside, he was alone. In a scary nightmare cell full of horrors.

Full of  _ spiders _ .

His entire body jerked in a shiver. 

He could hear scuttling — no doubt one of the horrifying little beasts themselves. Oh god, how many were there? He could barely see, he certainly couldn’t make out any _ insects _ .

What if they were  _ everywhere _ ? Was every inch of the place crawling with them? There were  _ so _ many webs, too many webs, too many spiders, oh god.

He was struggling to breathe once again, practically hyperventilating as tears filled his eyes. The crushing panic of the situation was slamming into him.

He wanted to go  _ home _ . He would take anything over this. He would take being thrown across a goddamn volcano over this.

Something scurried across his leg.

A quiet sob left his throat. He was sitting there, completely frozen, unable to do so much as flick the spider away. God, he was so pathetic.

He could swear more spiders were crawling on him, now. His skin was burning. They were everywhere. He couldn’t breathe. 

His fingers twitched, but he couldn’t make himself move.

Tears were streaming from his eyes and his skin was so itchy and he couldn’t handle this, he  _ really _ couldn’t handle this.

His face was growing numb from how hard he was crying. 

He didn’t even realize that he was finally moving, barely registering the pain from how hard he was scratching at his skin. Even when he realized how bad it  _ did _ hurt, he couldn’t stop, scratching his arms, his hands, his legs, everything he could.

It was starting to burn.

The scratching got more frantic. He couldn’t stop until the spiders were gone. With the lack of light in the cell, he had no way of knowing when that would be, so he just continued to scratch and continued to cry.

The panic turned the world into a haze. He stared blankly ahead, unseeing, doing nothing but scratching at his skin. Tears continued to pour from his eyes.

He was so pathetic. He was  _ so  _ pathetic. _ He was so pathetic _ . 

He couldn’t even handle some stupid little baby spiders. He was supposed to be the brave protector of the city, the successor to the great Monkey King, and he couldn’t even handle  _ spiders _ . 

He sniffled. If Monkey King had known how pathetic he was, he’d never have chosen him.

And now look at him. Stuck in an eternal nightmare hole — which really  _ did  _ seem to be eternal, as wherever he was being kept wasn’t somewhere he’d seen while they’d been rescuing Tang and Pigsy — having  _ lost _ the staff.

Oh god. He’d lost the staff. He really  _ was _ worthless.

He couldn’t believe he’d been so careless, so stupid. The scratching increased, and he hissed at the feeling. He wasn’t cut out to be Monkie Kid. Monkey King had made a mistake, choosing him. It had all just been one big mistake.

He sobbed. Maybe he deserved to rot down here with the spiders. At least here he couldn’t fuck anything up for anyone.

His sobs turned to high pitched cries. He couldn’t handle this.

He cried for a long time, until there were no tears left to cry. Still, the panic didn’t go away. They were all over the cell, even if he couldn’t see them. His skin was still burning from how hard he’d been scratching.

His earlier exhaustion was hitting him again, full force. But he couldn’t sleep, not  _ now _ . Not when he was surrounded by  _ them _ .

He sniffled, pressing his arms close to his body and covering his face. As long as they didn’t get on his face or under his clothes or on his skin or anywhere near him it would all be okay. It would all be  _ fine _ . 

But it wasn’t fine. He was so far from fine.

He wondered briefly if Mei would laugh at him for panicking so badly. They were just  _ spiders _ . Most of them couldn’t even hurt him. Unless they were big, or poisonous, or… 

He hugged his knees to his chest. Mei would think he was being so stupid.

Blearily, he opened his eyes, surveying the cell nervously. He couldn’t  _ see _ any spiders. That didn’t mean there weren’t any there. It only made it all the more nerve-wracking. 

His eyes landed on the faint shadow of a spider. It was  _ huge _ . Absolutely massive, actually. He scrambled back towards the edge of his cell.

_ No no no no no no! _

Breathe, just take deep breaths, it wasn’t going to come any closer, it probably didn’t have any interest in him, just stop please get away he wanted to go home.

It didn’t move for a moment. Maybe it would leave.  _ Maybe it would leave! _ That sounded pretty likely, right? It could totally leave!

Instead, out of nowhere, it scurried way too close for comfort.

MK shoved himself back against the wall of his cell, clawing at the door behind him.

“Let me out!” he shrieked, his voice strained. He received no response other than the spider getting ever closer. He had nowhere left to run. It was too close.

Whatever he’d thought he would go through as the Monkie Kid, all the horrible torture and the kidnappings and the near death experiences he’d dreamed up…

This was worse. This was  _ so much worse _ .


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MK wakes up to more spiders. It gets even worse from there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be warned: this chapter has some more intense spider stuff, and suicidal ideation. Proceed with caution.

MK didn’t remember falling asleep.

He remembered desperate panic, burning skin, screaming himself hoarse. He remembered crying so hard he couldn’t breathe.

But he didn’t remember falling asleep.

He didn’t want to open his eyes. He didn’t want to get up, to face the dark, horrifying nightmare cell again. If he kept his eyes closed then it was sort of like he wasn’t even there.

It was like he was back home, or really,  _ anywhere _ but here.

Somewhere that wasn’t filled with spiders. Terrible… creepy little…  _ spiders _ …

He snapped his eyes open purely out of fear.

That fear, as it turned out, was horrifically accurate.

This time, his eyes were fully adjusted to the lack of light, and oh god, this was a hundred times worse than being blind. 

There were spiders on him.

_ There were spiders on him _ .

He screamed, tears immediately welling in his eyes as he frantically tried to get them off. He swiped at them violently, his hands shaking so bad that he could barely even do so.

_ Get them off get them off get them off get them off get them off get them off stop stop stop stop please no _ .

He couldn’t think, he could only  _ panic panic panic _ , could only scramble to get to his feet and crush the spiders under his shoes. He couldn’t breathe properly again until they were all dead. Even then, he just stared at them, his vision obscured by the constant flow of tears.

He stumbled away, to the other side of the small cell. Mercifully, he couldn’t see any more of them.

He didn’t sit, this time. He just stood there, arms wrapped tightly around himself as he cried. Standing would make it harder for them to get to him. Standing was good, standing was his best option.

He wanted to go home so badly.

He wanted to be in the noodle shop, he wanted Pigsy to yell at him for being late, he wanted to make deliveries and fight demons and not be stuck  _ here _ , in a cell surrounded by the one thing he feared the most.

He whimpered.

He was sure that the spiders were everywhere, again. Surrounding him. Too many. Too close. 

_ Stop stop stop _ .

He needed to get out of his head, he needed to  _ stop thinking about it _ , but he couldn’t. His mind and heart were racing, and there was nothing he could do to distract himself from the terror.

He was so busy panicking, so busy crying hard enough that his face had gone numb a long time ago, so busy unable to focus on anything other than all the  _ spiders _ , that he hadn’t even noticed the cell door opening.

“I take it you’ve learned your lesson?”

MK snapped his head up.  _ The door was open _ .

He all but threw himself to the other side, tripping on a rock and landing hard on the ground. It hurt, but at least he wasn’t in  _ there _ anymore.

There he lay, on the ground, unable to make himself stop crying, while the Spider Queen stood above him.

He didn’t have the energy to try to run.

She went dead silent, and MK risked a glance up, wiping his eyes. The tears were finally, finally beginning to slow.

She looked angry. No, angry wasn’t the right word. She looked absolutely  _ furious _ .

He shrank back. He didn’t know what had caused this sudden change, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.

Wordlessly, she pulled him roughly to his feet, dragging him along. He fought back, but her grip was tight.

“Where are you taking me?” he whimpered.

He was given no answer.

Before long, he was back where he’d first woken up, though it was much lighter than before. He couldn’t decide if he liked being able to see.

“It seems,” the Spider Queen said cooly, “that you  _ haven’t  _ learned your lesson.”

MK hadn’t even tried to run this time! Well, he supposed he’d struggled a little, but  _ still _ . He had no desire to go through that again. “What do you — what do you mean?”

She glared down at him. “If you think it’s  _ acceptable _ to  _ murder  _ my sweet little children,” a spider ran across her arm, which she smiled fondly at. “Then I’m going to have to teach you how to be a  _ good _ little monkey.”

MK paled. She’d already proven that she would make good on threats like that.

“Wait, no, I didn’t—”

“Hush up.”

MK tried to run. He actually made it a good few steps this time, but in all the chaos, he’d forgotten about his bandana.

Of its own will, it began to tighten around his neck. Frantically, he tugged at the fabric, desperately trying to get it off. It wouldn’t budge.

He had slowed down enough to be caught, and he was shoved to the ground and pinned there.   
  
“I’ll teach you some respect,” she said, a dark promise that MK had no doubt she would keep.

The bandana let up, and MK could only focus on breathing in and out. In and out. He just needed to keep taking in air. Breathing was good. Breathing was the first step to getting himself out of this mess.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw something move. He turned his head, searching for it. He didn’t see anything, maybe it had just been his imagination.

But then he saw it again. Spiders. So many spiders.

“What—?” he squeaked, watching them approach in nothing short of terror. He’d just gotten  _ away _ from them!

“You killed my children,” she repeated, angry. “You’ve been a very,  _ very _ bad little monkey. I’d kill you just as brutally if you weren’t so useful to me alive.”

He glanced again at the ever-closer hoard of spiders, his inability to breathe completely unrelated to his headband, this time. “I’m sorry!” he cried.

“ _ You will be _ ,” she growled.

They crawled onto him.

He screamed, trying to get them off, but being held down as he was, he could do nothing but helplessly thrash.

“Get them off!” he begged, tears immediately beginning to gather and fall from his eyes. “ _ Please _ , oh god!”

They were all over him, and he couldn’t do anything about it. He could only lay there, pinned to the ground, spiders covering his whole body.

“This is what happens when you go and  _ kill _ my children,” she hissed, forcing him harsher against the cold stone ground.

He sobbed. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to kill them, I didn’t!” he wanted to be dead, anything would be better than this, he wanted to die and never come back and be done with this forever.

To make matters worse, the Spider Queen began to chant. The bandana constricted around his throat once more, and MK was left wheezing and gasping for air like a fish.

He jerked in her grip, vision beginning to get fuzzy. There were so many spiders. He wanted to be dead. He had never been so scared before. Panic was holding him tighter than the Spider Queen was, and that was saying something.

They crawled all over him. He screamed, but no sound escaped. The band was too tight. If he couldn’t breathe, at least he would die. Anything but this.

It stopped, but MK hardly noticed. He was too busy sobbing his eyes out, barely able to see the little creatures that had made homes for themselves on his skin. He began to shake and tremble, until he was practically seizing.

His entire body went freezing cold, and he realized very suddenly that he had been hyperventilating. He couldn’t find it in him to try anymore. They were all over him.

He wanted to die.

He wanted the band to constrict again and not let go, to just  _ let him die _ .

No other thought in his head. Just  _ get them off let me die get them off let me die get them off get them off he had to get away _ .

His face burned with pins and needles. 

He could barely feel the spiders crawling up his neck and up to his face, but that only made it worse. He clamped his mouth shut, having a hard time doing so from how hard he was crying. Oh god, oh god oh god, this was a nightmare, this was  _ worse _ than a nightmare.

His mind was blank and too full and nothing and everything and black and white and — he couldn’t hold in a scream, ugly and hoarse. He clamped his mouth shut again.

It could have been hours by the time they finally left. They scuttled off him, retreating into the cold and damp corners of the cave. He was all but forced to sit up.

And oh, was this horrible.

MK, with tears still streaming down his face, eyes puffy, no doubt red all over. The Spider Queen, staring down at him with all the grace a queen would have.

MK, hand violently trembling, lifted his arm to wipe his eyes, feeling much like a child having a tantrum.

“I’m sure you’ve learned your lesson,” she said, a statement more than a question. “I  _ suggest _ you don’t do it again.”

“I wo—I won’t,” he sobbed, shaking his head.

“There’s a good little monkey.”

He needed to get out of here. This was sick, it was absolutely disgusting, it was  _ evil _ , potentially more so than even DBK was capable of. He needed to run, and — and — and — when had she started carding her fingers through his hair?

It felt kind of…  _ sort of _ … comforting.

He knew that it was very, very bad to feel comforted by the person who was tormenting him, but he could worry about that later. Right now, it was the only source of comfort he  _ had _ .

———

The Spider Queen could not  _ believe _ she was in this position. 

A part of her was still regretting her decision to not just eat the little brat, but she couldn’t deny that the long term effects of keeping him around would be better all around. Eating him would give her a short term energy boost, but keeping him around and taking energy day by day… that would give her the power to reclaim her empire.

The problem she had known she would face before the little monkey even woke up the first time, of course, was that he would make things difficult. He would try to run, he would fight, he wouldn’t just let her do what she needed to.

So now here she was. A queen having to play babysitter.

This was just  _ sad _ .

She couldn’t deny that  _ eventually _ , when the little monkey was actually  _ trained _ , all would be well. She did love the idea of having a pet, after all.

But training him was already proving to be a hassle. The brat had actually had the fucking  _ nerve _ to  _ kill _ some of her children. That was absolutely and completely unacceptable.

She nearly killed him on the spot.

But she had to be patient.

His arachnophobia, luckily, did make punishing him that much easier. Hello, she was the queen of  _ spiders _ for a reason. She hardly had to lift a finger to punish him.

But at times like  _ this _ , when he was crying his little eyes out, and she had to do something to get him to be more dependent on her, it was just fucking annoying. 

Petting his hair, rolling her eyes in frustration as he sobbed, she just wanted to throw the brat back in the cell. But that wouldn’t get her her power, and that wouldn’t gain her a pet. 

If this wasn't worth it in the end, she was going to go feral.

_ Ugh _ . If the dreadful little thing didn’t stop crying pretty soon, she didn’t know  _ what _ she would do.

In the moment, seeing him squirm and scream as her spiders crawled all over him had been  _ extremely _ satisfying.

She was holding onto that satisfaction very tightly as she attempted to calm him down.

She was almost tempted to choke him again, if it would get him to shut up.

But that wouldn’t help to remold him, so for now, this would have to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God this is so much fun   
> _but next chapter will be even better_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Spider Queen feeds MK. There's a little more to it than that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Actually updating my own fic? It's less likely than you would think.

"I'm going to kill him," Pigsy muttered as he headed for the stairs. "How the hell is he half an hour late?  _ He lives right above the shop! _ "

"Maybe he forgot," Tang shrugged, following behind leisurely.

Pigsy paused to give his friend an unimpressed glare, saying nothing. The pair continued up to MK's room, knocking on the door loudly.

"Kid, I swear I'm gonna replace you with that delivery bot!"

At the lack of answer, he knocked again. When again, nothing could be heard, the two shared a look.

"MK?" Tang called, "Pigsy's not  _ actually _ going to fire you, just let us in."

Pigsy sighed, pulling out his keyring and fumbling for a moment before unlocking the door.

"You have got some serious explaining to… do. Kid?"

The room was empty. MK was nowhere to be seen. That was… concerning.

"MK?" He called, checking the bathroom just in case. It, too, was empty.

"He's not here," Tang remarked.

"Really?  _ I couldn't tell! _ " Pigsy grumbled. "Where the hell  _ is _ he?"

"Probably… yeah, I don't know. You know how he is, impulsive and forgetful. He'll probably be back within the next hour." Tang said, though he looked a little worried.

"Yeah, he better be."

An hour later, MK still wasn't back. Maybe some mystic monkey business had come up. That kind of thing happened sometimes. Granted, he usually found some way to let them  _ know _ when that sort of thing happened.

But Pigsy was sure it was fine. Whatever the case, the kid was getting a serious talking to when he got back.

By the time MK’s shift should have been over, he still hadn’t returned. Pigsy had  _ obviously _ already tried calling him, but each time it went to voicemail. Still, just in case, there was no harm in trying once more.

When it went to voicemail  _ again _ , Pigsy slammed his own phone down in frustration. By some miracle, the screen didn’t crack.

“He better have one  _ hell _ of an explanation when he gets back,” he grumbled.

“We won’t know until tomorrow,” Tang said, “he’s got training tonight, remember?”

Fuck. Of course he did. This was just great. He swore, if his kid was  _ hurt _ and Pigsy didn’t know it until  _ tomorrow _ , he’d…  _ ugh _ . He just hoped MK was safe.

Two hours later, as Pigsy began to close up, the bell above the shop door rang as someone entered.

“I’ll be with you in a minute,” he said, not yet looking up from his current task.

“Where’s MK?”

...Why was Monkey King standing in his shop asking about his kid if MK was supposed to be with him right now? 

“Is he not with you?” Pigsy asked, drying his hands with the towel he’d slung over his shoulder.

“Nope. You got him working a double shift or what?”

“I haven’t seen him all day,” he said, slowly. Dread began to descend upon him. If MK wasn’t with  _ them _ , and  _ Monkey King _ hadn’t seen him, then…  _ where the fuck was he _ ?

“That’s… concerning,” Monkey King finally said, glancing around the shop as if MK was hiding somewhere inside.

“I’m callin’ Mei,” Pigsy said.

“I’ve already got her on the phone,” Tang said, gesturing to said phone, which was now pressed against his ear. “Mei? Have you seen MK today? No? Do you know where he is? Okay. No, don’t worry, we were just checking. Thanks.” he set the phone down, looking just as worried as Pigsy felt. “Call Sandy.”

Pigsy nodded, immediately dialing up his friend. But, just like Mei, Sandy didn’t have an answer for them.

The dread was really setting in, now.

“Where would he  _ be _ ?” Monkey King asked. “And when was the last time you saw him?”

“ _ I  _ haven’t seen him since last night,” Tang said.

“Me neither,” Pigsy said, thinking back to the previous night. “Kid was  _ exhausted _ , went right up to bed. I’m checking his room again.”

The other two followed him, and as they looked around, Monkey King spoke up.

“Is this his phone?”

That was the tipping point. MK wouldn’t have gone somewhere without his phone, he wouldn’t have not told anybody where he was going, he wouldn’t have been gone the  _ entire day _ . Something was wrong. Something was  _ seriously _ wrong.

He could feel it, now. MK was in trouble.

They had to find him before it was too late.

———

MK had been alone for a long time. 

He’d been practically discarded in a small, dark corner, his hands and feet bound so he couldn’t run.

Blissfully, this time there were no spiders.

It didn’t stop him from crying over the stress the last two instances had brought, though.

He felt so  _ stupid,  _ crying over a couple little spiders. They probably couldn’t even hurt him. He, the literal successor of  _ the _ Monkey King, had been reduced to a whiny sniffling mess by tiny little bugs. Arachnids. Whatever.

He just wanted to get out of this place.

But then, from somewhere far away, he heard a scream. What the hell? Was somebody else down here? That certainly hadn’t come from the Spider Queen. 

They sounded like they were in trouble.

MK, for all he was trying, couldn’t move. He was utterly stuck with this stupid web-rope, which in of itself was pretty gross. God, he hated spiders.

More screams. He was getting scared. What if they were hurt? They obviously needed help, but he couldn’t  _ do _ anything! What kind of superhero _was_ he?

The screams went on, and he fought to the best of his ability against the webs. It didn’t get him anywhere.

Eventually, they stopped.

The silence dragged on for what might have been somewhere around an hour, but MK’s sense of time had always been somewhat terrible, and now, warped as it was, he couldn’t rely on it. But he knew it had been awhile.

And then something strange happened.

The Spider Queen came in, holding a bowl. He eyed it warily, trying to prepare himself for whatever was about to happen. It was hard to prepare yourself for something when you had no idea what was going on.

For once, she actually seemed kind of  _ gentle _ . That was… weird.

“I’ve brought you some dinner, little monkey,” she said, sitting in front of him.

He glanced at the bowl. It looked like… soup? But something seemed wrong about it. He couldn’t quite place his finger on it, but something about it was giving him a bad feeling. A very, very bad feeling.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Soup.”

That wasn’t the whole truth, he just knew it. “What kind?”

“Do you want to eat, or not?”

He  _ was _ absolutely starving. He hadn’t eaten since he’d been here, and he’d been here for… actually, when one was trapped underground in a giant cave, it was difficult to tell time. So he had nothing to go off of other than the grumbling in his stomach.

“Yes,” he mumbled.

She seemed satisfied, and held out the spoon to him.

“Wait, aren’t you going to untie me?” he asked.

“What, so you can run off? Until you learn to behave, absolutely not.” She pushed the spoon closer to his mouth, but he could only stare at it. Everything in him was telling him not to eat it.

“What kind of meat is that?”

She looked like she was getting annoyed, now. “You’re eating this one way or another.”

“I just want to know what I’m putting in my body!”

“Eat it. Or I’ll  _ make you, _ ” she said. MK had absolutely no desire to be put through anything like his last two “punishments” again, but he just couldn’t make himself eat whatever was being offered without  _ knowing _ .

He remembered, very suddenly, what she had threatened to do last time he and his friends had encountered her. She’d planned to eat Tang and Pigsy, and  _ then _ she’d tried to eat  _ him _ . Hell, when he’d first woken up here this time, she said she’d considered it.

And then there had been those screams he’d heard.

And then they had gone away, and  _ now _ the Spider Queen was in front of him, refusing to tell him what he was about to eat.

The pieces were falling into place, and he had never dreaded something more.

“Oh god,” he said, beginning to scoot back against the wall as best he could. “You didn’t…” he was going to be sick. He was going to vomit. This was repulsive. No no no.

“I did,” she said, glaring at him. “And you’d best get over it if you don’t want to be punished.”

Oh  _ god _ . For the first time in his life, MK could confidently say that he’d actually prefer the spiders over  _ this _ . He couldn’t eat this. He  _ wouldn’t _ . It was horrible, and disgusting, and wrong, and so  _ bad _ .

“You can’t — I won’t — you’re crazy!” he stammered.

“I caught some fresh meat just for you and you’re whining about it? What an ungrateful little thing.”

“ _ Ungrateful? _ You’re trying to feed me a  _ person _ !” he shrieked, feeling even worse now that he’d said it out loud.

“Of course! You’re a growing little monkey, you need the nutrition,” she said, her voice suddenly very gentle (and yet, very, very angry). Something about it managed to disturb him even more.

He needed to get out of here—

All at once she had his face in a deathly-tight grip, forcing his mouth open. He tried to squirm away, but she was too strong.

_ Please _ , no, this couldn’t be happening.

A spoonful of the “soup” was forced into his mouth.

“Eat. It,” she said, looking ready to kill him if he didn’t.

Terrified, and disgusted, he chewed exactly once. And then, just as quickly, he felt bile rising in his throat, just barely managed to wrench his face out of her grasp, leaned over, and vomited all over the floor.

His throat burned, his stomach ached, and the fresh taste of vomit in his mouth only made him throw up again, emptying the contents of his stomach everywhere.

The Spider Queen, who had long since backed away as he threw up, looked down on him in disgust. “This is how you’re going to be, then?”

He spit into the small pile of puke, grimacing at the taste. “I can’t… control… when I vomit,” he explained, focusing very hard on his breathing. God, he would give anything to wash out his mouth right now.

She dragged him to his feet, narrowly avoiding the mess. “I go out of my way to feed you,” she said, her voice a low growl. “And this is how you thank me?”

“You tried… to feed me… a human!”

“Oh, you’re still eating it.”

“ _ What? _ ”

“It will just be far,  _ far _ less pleasant for you,” she explained, going for the bowl again. Shit, what did she mean by that? What was she going to  _ do  _ to him? Please not that horrible cell again, anything but that. Just… please nothing with spiders. He didn’t think he could take any more spiders.

His mouth was forced open again, and the spoon was shoved in, full of soup. He practically choked on it.

“Chew and swallow,” she instructed, leaving no room for argument.

He couldn’t go back in that cell again. He couldn’t be covered in spiders again. He  _ couldn’t _ . So, against every instinct, he did as he was told, forcing it down.

He was suddenly very glad for having thrown up. It helped to distract from the taste, whatever that may have been. It was the only mercy he was granted.

He could still hear whoever this was’s screams, desperate and pleading. He could have saved them, if he had just been a little stronger. The thought made him increasingly more ill.

More soup was forced down his throat. Tears began to form in the corners of his eyes.

“That’s a good little monkey,” she hummed as she continued to spoon-feed him, his resistance going down with every bite. He just wanted to be  _ done  _ with it. The meat’s texture was unlike the consistency of any other meat he could ever recall having, in the worst type of way. It tasted like a horrible imitation of pork.

He didn’t try to stop himself from crying. He’d cried plenty of times in his short time here, one more made no difference.

He sniffled, forcing himself to swallow down another spoonful. He’d never felt so horrible in his  _ life _ .

“There, see, that wasn’t so bad,” she said, finally releasing him.

When MK saw that the bowl was empty, he could only wail in distress. He’d just eaten a full bowl of soup that had fucking  _ human flesh _ in it. Oh god, oh fuck, he was close to vomiting again.

He curled up on the floor, shaking. He’d just… he couldn’t  _ believe _ he’d just done that. He felt disgusting, and almost as evil as the Spider Queen was. He should have tried harder to fight back, then he wouldn’t have had to — god.

He wanted to go  _ home _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> Follow my tumblr @ninja-go-to-therapy for extra content ;)


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